Washington Capitals 3-1 Montreal Canadiens
The number one seed in the Eastern Conference, Washington Capitals, took a 2-0 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens after their 3-1 victory. It was scoreless first period before the Habs took the lead immediately after the intermission. Christian Dvorak take his chance and put the Canadiens in the lead.
It would not last though, as three and a half minutes after going behind, the Caps were in front. Connor Carmichael needed just two and a half minutes to tie things up.
Exactly a minute later, Dylan Strome converted what would be the game winner. Montreal had 47 shots in the whole match, just two less than their opponents. Nearly half of them came in the final frame as they desperately tried to ensure they did not go back home with a second reverse. It was not to be though, as Carmichael added an empty net goal at the end to secure the win for Washington.
The teams will head to Montreal for the next two matches, which will occur on Friday and Sunday. The Habs will need to win at least one of those games to get another trip across the border. However, the Capitals will want to close things out on the road so they get more time to rest.
Colorado Avalanche 1-2 Dallas Stars (AOT)
Dallas Stars won back-to-back overtime matches against Colorado Avalanche as Tyler Seguin scored in his second-straight game to give Dallas a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first round.
Colorado, looking to bounce back from heartbreak in the second game of the series, got off to a good start, with Valeri Nichushkin opening the scoring in the 10th minute with a composed finish whilst one-on-one with goaltender Jake Oettinger.
Dallas struck back in the third period to level the scores. During a power play, the Stars' Jamie Benn picked up a rebound before slapping home a shot from close range.
Both goaltenders were in fine form, making 53 saves overall, but it was Seguin who had the last laugh, scoring five-and-a-half minutes into overtime to give his side the advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Los Angeles Kings 6-2 Edmonton Oilers
LA Kings continued their dominant streak against the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-2 victory to extend their lead in the series to 2-0 as Adrian Kempe netted twice in his side's win.
LA started the scoring in the first period during a power play as Brandt Clarke netted from close range after a good pass from Warren Fogele - his first of two assists on the night.
They added another early on in the second period through Quinton Byfield before Andrei Kuzmenko made it 3-0 soon after.
Edmonton did get a goal back at the end of the second period to reduce the arrears to 3-1, before LA took the game away from the Oilers in the final period.
Kempe netted twice in between a goal from Anze Kopitar to put their side in control in the series.
